He will equal the record for Test caps on Saturday but he knows his rugby story is well into its final chapter and England's youthful chargers will be keen to make him wonder if he should not have called it a day already.

Stuart Lancaster's team have impressed in their first two games in the Six Nations and will be looking to take another step forward in their development by ending Ireland's unbeaten start.

Two caps v 138 caps

Stat attack

No player has scored more tries for Ireland against England than Brian O'Driscoll, although all three of his efforts have come on home soil

We know all there is to know about O'Driscoll, who will win his 139th cap and draw level with former Australia scrum-half and captain George Gregan.

The flaring acceleration may have gone and he is no longer the carefree youngster who played purely on instinct, but he's a shrewder player now. The 35-year-old still has all the old skills and his defence - especially his work at the breakdown, where he's like an extra back rower - is top notch.

He is a talismanic figure who, like captain and long-time compadre Paul O'Connell, can lift the team with his presence alone.

The men who run the show

Farrell

Facts

Sexton

22

Age

28

22

Caps

40 (3 for Lions)

210

Points

333

6ft 2in (1.88m)

Height

6ft 2in (1.88m)

15st 2lb (96 kg)

Weight

14st 5lb (92 kg)

Sexton has a better running game than opposite number Farrell but against the Welsh it was his kicking that stood out - he seemed to have total control of the ball, possibly helped by the fact that his club side Racing Metro's gameplan requires a lot of kicking.

Although it might not appear to be the case, both he and Farrell have kicked similar amounts in this year's Championship, but there's no doubt Sexton has been low risk.

He's been very efficient, with high levels of accuracy, and has been playing very good no-frills rugby.

Farrell is still a young man at 22 and although he's only kicking at 60% in this Six Nations - Sexton is at 83% - the Englishman is rightly renowned for his mental toughness when it comes to going for the sticks.

He came out and attacked against France in the first game, making two or three line breaks, and I thought "wow, he's clearly developing his game".

England's worry over the scrum

Bath prop Wilson, who will start in his place, has only just come back from injury and is still searching for match fitness, while replacement Henry Thomas is only 22 and some observers have raised questions about whether his scrummaging is up to Test standard.

Wilson is a big guy with lots of experience but he won't be 80-minutes fit and didn't look terribly confident against Exeter last weekend.

He's got to last as long as he can though because he's against a good loose-head in Cian Healy.

If anyone wants to know how significant the loss of a decent tight-head can be, they only need to look back to this fixture two years ago, when
Ireland's Mike Ross was forced off early on
and England's scrum dominance set up a thumping 30-9 victory.

What I would say is that there can't be that much concern about Wilson's fitness because it would be a big negative to take that risk if they don't believe he's ready to return at this level.

Similarly, if Sale prop Thomas is not up to playing Test rugby, he shouldn't be there. I'd be lost for words if there isn't confidence that any player in the 23 would be able to deliver if they came on in the first minute.

Blossoming youth versus the gnarled icon

Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury have really matured in the past few games - a bit like the whole team actually - as players suddenly realise they are made to play in these matches.

I believe - win or lose - this England team are a strong enough unit to continue to improve and that it's nowhere near its potential.

Youth v experience

Lawes

Facts

O'Connell

24

Age

34

26

Caps

89 (plus 7 for Lions)

0

Tries

6 tries

6ft 7in (2.01m)

Height

6ft 6in (1.98m)

18st 8lb (118 kg)

Weight

17st 4lb (110 kg)

The way they're playing shows how much they've moved on and the second rows have been as big a part of that as anybody.

Paul O'Connell is viewed in the same way as O'Driscoll in Ireland. They are talismen and can carry a team.

Can Peter O'Mahony put in another performance like the one he managed against Wales? He was superb at the breakdown but he doesn't always hit those heights and it will be interesting to see if he is as influential again.

The blind-side flanker is a grafter, a real unsung hero, but one of the first names on the team sheet.

He has that unrelenting Munster ferocity, but he can only get in position to jackal [(steal the ball at a ruck] if you let him. That means England must go as a group rather than individuals; that way O'Mahony won't get a look-in.

Stat attack

Ireland blind-side Peter O'Mahony won a tournament-high five turnovers in the opening two weekends of the Six Nations

Ireland are leading the stats in the number of turnovers this Six Nations so England can't say they haven't been given fair warning.

England's line-out - which is being called by Lawes - has been watertight when hooker Dylan Hartley has been on the pitch so they'll be pretty confident and it's hard to see Ireland getting much change out of them.

About Schmidt

In my day, Ireland were all kick and rush, elbows and knees. There wasn't the level of detail they have now.

“Rugby comes incredibly naturally to George Ford - he just gets the game in its entirety”

New boss Joe Schmidt turned Leinster into one of the sharpest attacking outfits in the game but his Ireland side have played it safe so far, and that's smart thinking by the Kiwi coach.

You've got to start somewhere and build on it. Schmidt's having a look at his capabilities and analysing the rest of his team - why take a risk to begin with?

He's said, "we've got three home games this Six Nations, let's make sure we get the job done in Dublin before we try to open things up".

At the moment Ireland are playing more of what would traditionally be viewed as the Munster style - be ferocious at the breakdown, kick for position and defend like dervishes - than the more fluent "Leinstertainment" of his former charges.

You could imagine retired Ireland 10 Ronan O'Gara slotting in perfectly a fortnight ago with his kicking game, and it will be fascinating to see what approach Schmidt's charges take on Saturday.

still having visions of sextons uncharateristic short kick after england made it 10-6 brown made his linebreak only 2 or 3 plays after , it changed the whole complextion of the game and when england had that 3 point lead they wouldnt let go of it...not blaming sexton here really feel sorry for him after he missed that routine kick against NZ to beat them,just does one thing wrong and game over

763 - Yeah read them again and tell me its not ironic England has the title Of being arrogant. Maybe your banter doesn't translate to script but c'e la vie (that means 'that's life')Enough of Wales....Ireland are a danger for the WC. Back three are world class. Very even. England wingers shaky but big occasion so let the off.

@752 & @753 You haven't read all the comments in that case. No chips, chippy, just reflecting on what is actually being written here in addition to having contributed some constructive relevant comments to today's game. Otherwise, some call it banter..so dry your eyes and off to bed with you!

@760. But given the first part of your latest comment, there is no point to be missed in your earlier comment, other than a pointless attempt to steer the thread to Wales. The Welsh game was last night...just in case you missed it...

@758There is cause for a little more optimism than that.England's line-out is working better than most, the back row is much improved. Vunipola, if fit will be a real handful for any opposition.OK the scrum without Cole and Corbisiero may provide an opening for the Welsh, but they held up better than I expected today.

@737 the majority of England fans will be realistic, look at our recent record against Wales and agree that you are favourites. Scrum is a big worry for me. Of course we hope we can turn things around. Wales seem to have the edge on England a bit like Ireland do on Wales.

@751 clearly you missed today's game then...neither side can be called poor ...if Wales do go on to win it ( which looks very unlikely after the latest round of results...) then they will have done so on merit...

does anyone else think winning the championship on points scored difference is just a bit underwhelming and anticlimatic,the sooner they bring in bonus points the better,obviously if you win the grand slam but have less points (which I think may or may not be possible as im awful at maths) you get the trophy

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